Vengence
by aprilshowers14
Summary: Panic sets in on the flagship NCIS team as they race to find Tony's kidnappers before he runs out of time. Ziva begins to realize just how much she needs Tony in her life. Will they be too late? Slight McAbby and eventual Tiva.
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs strolled into the squad room and cast a quick glance at his watch before gruffly addressing his team who sat at their computers, furiously working or at least pretending to be working in DiNozzo's case, "What are you people still doing here? It's late. There are no new cases. Go. Go home. Shoo. Get some sleep. I'll see you first thing Monday morning."

With that he turned his gaze to the balcony where Director Vance was waiting to give him the monthly terrorist briefing. Tossing his empty cup of coffee, he began to make his way up the stairs.

"I suppose that means we should do as he says, but not as he does," remarked Tony, shaking his head as he watched the silver-haired man scale the stairs to do the opposite of what he had ordered his team to do. He swiveled in his chair to watch McGee scrambling to get his things together and turn off his computer.

"Slow down, McSpeedster, there's no extra credit points for obeying the boss' orders faster than the rest of us."

"I'm not trying to earn extra credit, Tony. I happen to have a date tonight, and I'd rather not be late. It's kind of a big deal." McGee shot him a pointed look before practically sprinting out of the squad room.

Tony cocked his head slightly before turning to face Ziva who was calming preparing to leave, "McGee has a date? With who? His Xbox?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," she returned, brown eyes twinkling with amusement as she saw the wheels in his mind begin churning at the hint that she knew something he didn't about McGee's evening plans.

The comment had the desired effect on Tony who narrowed his eyes at her and advanced towards her desk, "Alright, Agent David, spill. What's the probie really doing tonight?"

He leaned backward on her desk, arms crossed, eyes probing hers, waiting for an answer.

"It is as he said. He has a date," she answered with a coy smile. McGee and Abby had sworn her to secrecy. Eventually Tony would find out, but right now, she was enjoying having the upper hand on him.

"With who? Someone we know?" He stared thoughtfully into the distance, running through the list of women the McGee could possibly be on a date with.

"Perhaps," she replied as cryptically as she could.

Realizing Ziva was never going to reveal the identity of McGee's mystery date, he switched gears, "And what about you, Ms. David? Any plans for the weekend?"

"No, my schedule is completely free." she said carefully, slowing down the last word as she met his gaze, daring him to break through the paper thin wall behind which they hid their feelings for each other.

"Well that is just sad. But luckily for you I can rescue your dismal weekend. It just so happens I got the complete, digitally re-mastered collection of the Best of Alfred Hitchcock from Amazon this week. These are classic films in American culture, and if you ever want to truly assimilate, it is vital that you see them," he said, hoping his voice sounded normal and casual as his heart began to beat wildly, hoping she'd say yes.

"Vital, you say? Well in that case, I don't think I have a choice." The sexual tension in the room was palpable. Neither Tony nor Ziva would admit this was well beyond the scope of a platonic working relationship.

"I'm glad you're taking this matter as seriously as you should," he said with mock sincerity, his eyes sparkling with excitement, "now pack your bags, Daaveed, we start tonight!"

He did his best to remain calm as he returned to his desk to get his things, but he couldn't keep a smile from spreading across his face. She has agreed to spend the entire weekend with him, watching movies in his apartment. In that moment he was convinced they would finally find a way to drop their guards and simply be together. Together. That word took him far into the future. All of the things that once terrified him about relationships before—commitment, marriage, babies— suddenly seemed surprisingly amazing.

Her voice brought him back to the present.

"Ready to go, Tony?" she asked trying to appear nonchalant about their weekend together too.

He turned to face her again, "Of course! Prepare yourself for an adventure of a lifetime."

They walked out together, in their usual way, while Tony launched into a clearly rehearsed biography of "The Man Behind the Scream," insisting that it was essential to the cinematic experience to know that Hitchcock's father had had the police lock him up in prison when he was a child and that his daughter Patricia was an actress in some of his movies. Ziva listened in silence, loving how happy movies made him.

By the time they reached the parking lot, Tony had begun an overly dramatic rendition of the famous shower scene, playing both Janet Leigh and Norman Bates. When he let out the highest pitched scream Ziva had ever heard from a grown man, she couldn't stop herself from shaking with laughter.

"Oh you think that's funny? Laugh all you want, but that was a spot-on performance. After we watch it, I'd just like to see you try to do better," he challenged, pretending to be injured by her laughter but really he was glad to see her smile. There had been a time when he feared she'd never be able to smile let alone laugh again.

She was about to respond when a slight movement in the darkness ahead of them caught her eye. Something wasn't right. The parking lot was dark. Too dark. Her eyes narrowed, straining to see. By now Tony had noticed her stiffening and stopped joking. She unclipped her holster and put a hand on her gun.

"What is it?" he asked in a short whisper. He was beginning to realize to that something was off in the parking lot.

Ziva's trained eyes scanned the empty rows of cars, "I'm not su… GET DOWN!" she called as she saw five hooded figures materialize out of the darkness.

Tony tried to comply, but the men were on top of them before they really had time to react. Ziva managed to shoot the leader of the gang, but the remaining men tackled her and Tony to the ground.

Grunting with frustration, she twisted out of the head lock one of the men had put her in and elbowed him in the face multiple times while kicking another man who was attempting to disarm her. The first man let go while the second clung desperately to her arm as she struggled to stand. A few feet away, she could see Tony surrounded by the other two men. A shot rang out in the air, and Ziva screamed as she saw Tony crumple to the ground. Applying all her force, she kicked the man holding her arm squarely in the chest, forcing him to release her.

Just as she had freed herself, a sharp blow from behind dazed her senses. She tasted blood in her mouth. Fighting to remain conscious, she took a few faltering steps to where Tony lay. Another blow from her assailant's pistol threw her back to the ground. Her vision blurred. She could just barely see the four men dragging Tony with them to their car. In a last ditch, desperate measure, she unloaded her clip in the direction of the car, but the bullets glanced off uselessly. She saw the car speeding away into the night then everything went black.

**A/N: I know it started a bit slow, but I promise it picks up in the next few chapters. Let me know what you think. I love reviews: they motivate me to write more sooo basically, reviews=updates.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I apologize for how long this chapter is, but there was no good way to break it up!**

It's cold. That's the first thought that passes through her mind. And for a moment, it's all she can focus on. _Why is it cold_? She wondered, blurred senses barely able to register that sensation.

Then suddenly warmth. Concentrated warmth in one spot. A hand, touching her. Shaking her. Bringing her back to reality. Images came rushing back to her. Flashes of memories. Tony smiling; her laughing then a shot and him bleeding, dragged away while she remained useless. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Tony," she muttered, "Where is Tony? I have to find him. They took him. I wasn't strong enough." She began gasping for breath as a full-fledged panic attack set in.

"Ziva?" The voice seemed distant and not truly part of her reality, "Ziva look at me. Listen to me. We'll find him. It'll be ok. Ziva? Ziva look at me," Gibbs' blue eyes desperately tried to meet hers which continued flickering around the crime scene. He had never seen her look so lost. Taking her hand, he managed to draw her gaze from the trail of blood that Tony had left behind.

"I… I couldn't stop them Gibbs," her voice faltered, and her hand went limp. There were so many lights around them. Flashing blue and red. People scurried about as little blurs on her vision. The only thing that remained clear was a small line of evidence tags that marked a blood path. _Tony's blood._

She tried to focus on what the car looked like, but found herself slipping out of consciousness again. The last thing she heard was Gibbs calling for a medic.

"I need a medic over here right now!" Gibbs bellowed, gesturing violently to two sleep-deprived looking paramedics who had just arrived on the scene. They rushed over to him and began gently examining Ziva's injuries while she slipped back into her previous dreamlike state.

"She put up on hell of a fight," one of the paramedics said with astonishment. Everywhere he shone his flashlight revealed a new bruise or cut.

"Most of the injuries are superficial," his older partner remarked, "But take a look at her head," he shined his flashlight to reveal the back of Ziva's head which was oozing with blood; her dark hair had become stiff and matted with dried blood though more continued to slowly leak from the pistol whip she had taken during the fight, "It looks like she was beaten with a blunt object a few times. A hit like that could kill someone. We need to get her back to the hospital and check for brain damage."

"Is she going to be alright?" Gibbs asked quietly and with as much calm as he could muster. Two of his family had been hurt today, and he still had no idea why.

"We'll need to take her back to the hospital to run tests, but after what she's been through, she's lucky to be alive at this point," the older paramedic said grimly.

Gibbs watched them take her away on a stretcher, praying to whatever gods still cared that she'd be ok. After they closed the ambulance doors, he swung into action, "Would someone care to tell me what the hell just happened here?" he shouted to no one in particular, clearly startling the surrounding agents.

It'd been an hour since they'd heard the gun shots and a base MP had reported an agent down and a bloody crime scene. Later, they discovered two more bodies of guards that the kidnappers had gunned down in order to get off base. And still they had nothing. Griffin, the leader of the team that was on call that weekend, had his men processing the scene, but it was slow progress in the dark.

"Jethro," Ducky called as Palmer removed the body of the man Ziva had shot, "There's nothing more we can do out here."

Gibbs sighed, "You're right, Ducky, you let me know the minute you find something useful."

"The second," Ducky called out after Gibbs's steadily retreating figure.

Inside the squad room, Gibbs slammed his phone shut as, once again, McGee failed to answer his phone. _Of all times to be unreachable._ He thought angrily then another idea occurred to him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Abby. She answered after the second ring.

"Gibbs, um, this is kind of a really not good time right now," she began to stammer nervously before he cut her off.

"Abby. Get back to the Navy Yard immediately. Someone's kidnapped Tony; Ziva was injured in the attack. And… tell McGee to answer his goddamn phone." He quickly briefed her on the situation and then hung up. The three empty desks around him stared lifelessly back at him and made him feel more alone than he'd felt in years. This was his family, and someone had threatened that. He'd make them pay if it was the last thing he did.

He picked up his phone and dialed security, "I want every second of tonight's footage taken from surveillance cameras on base sent to Abby's lab immediately. And get me the officer who was on patrol of the parking lot tonight."

"Right away sir," the sergeant quickly replied, "He's on his way to you as we speak."

A very nervous-looking MP petty officer stepped out of the elevator a few minutes later. He was clearly unprepared for the barrage of questions that Gibbs began to fling at him.

"Were you the officer in charge of patrolling the parking lot district tonight?"

"Well.. I,um, yes sir I was," he stuttered.

"Then Petty Officer Simmons, is it? Where were you when my two agents were assaulted and nearly killed walking to their cars tonight? Or did you see the kidnappers, but they'd paid you enough to keep quiet? Which is it Simmons?" Gibbs demanded of him.

"I was…" he began, but took one look at Gibbs's face and decided that completely honesty would be his only way to survive. He cleared his throat and started again, "look you're probably going to find out about this anyways, so I may as well tell you now. Yesterday, I get a call. The guy on the phone tells me I can make 10 grand in one night by skipping out on my patrol tonight. I mean it seemed harmless. This is a naval base in the States, not some outpost in Afghanistan. I swear I never knew this was going to happen," he choked back a sob, clearly realizing the gravity of the situation he'd just found himself in.

"Yeah? And what did you think was going to happen, hmm?" Gibb's eyes flashed with fury.

"I don't know sir, I…" he looked down at the floor, not daring to meet Gibbs's signature intense stare.

"Oh never mind," Gibbs sighed with disgust, clearly this man was incapable of thinking through his actions, "The guy on the phone, what did he sound like? Can you remember even that, Simmons?"

"Yes. Yes, um he sounded Russian, I think or Polish? Definitely Eastern European," he stammered quickly.

"If either of my agents die during all of this, I am holding you personally responsible. Now get out of here," Gibbs pointed a finger menacingly at him then dismissed him with contempt. At least now they had something. He pushed Simmons out of the way and smashed the elevator button that went to autopsy.

"Tell me you have something, Ducky," he said in a low growl as he entered autopsy.

"I do wish we had something concrete to give you at this time, Jethro, but we've only just begun. What I can tell you, based on his dental care or lack thereof and general facial features is that this man was Eastern European," Ducky replied.

"Yeah, Duck, I already know that. You have anything else?"

"Yes," Ducky said reluctantly, "I did a quick test on the blood trail they found in the parking lot. Now it's not as accurate as a DNA test, but…" he trailed off.

"But what?"

"It is Tony's blood type. It could very well be that not only has Tony been abducted, but he's also been seriously injured," Ducky said, eyes welled with emotion. In the background, Palmer looked up from the body at the two older men, hoping Gibbs would have some magic solution that would bring Tony back safe like Gibbs always seemed to have.

"How.. how seriously, Ducky?" Gibbs's voice faltered betraying the emotion he was attempting to keep concealed.

"Based on the amount of blood they found, he would need immediate medical aid. Of course that's assuming, they even want to keep him alive," Ducky added darkly, knowing better than to try and protect Gibbs from the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

"They didn't shoot him and leave him for dead. No, they wanted him alive for something," Gibbs sped out of the room, phone in hand to call Griffin for a status update.

"Griffin, Ducky confirms the blood you found at the scene was DiNozzo's and that the body we found was of Eastern European descent. Tell your people to put out a general alert to all hospitals in the area to be on the lookout for a man matching DiNozzo's description needing medical attention. And get a list of questionable Eastern European groups that recently entered the area."

He hung up before Griffin had time to answer. On the way up to the bullpen, the elevator stopped at the entrance level. McGee and Abby wordlessly joined him, though Abby looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown any minute.

"Please tell me he's ok, Gibbs. Tell me you know who's behind this already or that this is just some really bad nightmare that I'm going to wake up from later…"she trailed off then turned to him with wet, puppy dog eyes, "Please Gibbs, he has to be ok."

"We are doing everything to find him, Abby. The whole office is looking for him," he answered gently.

"And Ziva? What about her? You said she was hurt during the struggle, have you heard anything about her?" she wrung her hands nervously and paced back and forth in the tiny elevator.

"Not yet, Abby, but I'm sure they'll call soon. Right now I need you and McGee to go through all the evidence Griffin's team collected at the scene and see if you can find something that helps us. Can you do that?" he asked as tears began to trickle out of her eyes.

She sniffed, stopped pacing, and wiped the tears away, "Yes. I.. I can and will. I'll call you the second we find something."

"That's my girl," he said and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. The elevator doors opened at Abby's floor, and she walked out with steely determination, ready to convert the messy, chaotic piles of evidence into cold, hard facts that would help bring Tony back to her family.

Before following her, McGee turned to Gibbs and began to stammer out an apology for not answering his phone, "I'm so sorry boss. I should have never of turned my phone off. I just thought… if anything came up, Ziva and Tony would take care of it." Emotion rose in his voice when he said Tony's name, flashes of memories came whirling through his head. Tony was his partner; the friend who had gotten him through Kate's death in his own way; the friend who'd always been there no matter what. He couldn't lose Tony too, not like this.

Gibbs saw him start to succumb to fear, "Hey, we're going to find him, Tim," he began to say.

"I just…" McGee broke in, "I can't lose him Gibbs, or Ziva. They're my family." His face scrunched up with pain; tears welled up, unwanted, in his eyes.

"They're my family too. And right now they need us to fight for them. Find out who did this. Go do whatever it is you do on that computer of yours and get me a lead. Don't grieve for those who aren't dead." Gibbs gave McGee a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder then gently pushed him out of the elevator.

As the doors closed, a sinking thought struck him. Trying to calm his panic, he reached again for his phone and dialed Bethesda Hospital. A tired over-worked nurse answered the phone wearily,

"Bethesda Hospital Trauma Center, how can I assist you tonight?"

"My name is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; I'm calling about a patient that should have been admitted 45 minutes ago. Her name is Ziva David. I need an update on her status."

"Just a minute, sir." Over the phone, Gibbs could hear her keyboard clicking. It seemed like years before she finally responded, "I'm sorry; you must be mistaken. There's no record of any Ziva David being a patient here. Have a good night."

Before she could hang up on him Gibbs snapped, "Check again because I saw her on a stretcher headed to Bethesda less than an hour ago!" The flippancy of this nurse was unbelievably unnerving given the gravity of the situation.

"I can check as many times as you want me to, but it won't make a patient we don't have materialize out of thin air. Now why don't quit wasting both our times and try remembering the name of the hospital your friend was actually sent to," she said condescendingly to Gibbs who was beyond livid at this point.

Just as he was about to respond, she continued, "Wait a minute. Do you know the ambulance number your friend was taken in?"

For the first time Gibbs detected a shred of sincerity and concern in her voice and decided that that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Closing his eyes, he brought back memories of the crime scene. Images of Ziva, flashing lights, yellow tape, and the ambulance. He could just see the number, "Yes, it was number 4. Ambulance 4, why? Do you know where she is?"

The nurse hesitated, as if she wasn't sure if she was allowed to divulge this information, "That's just the thing, ambulance 4 has been missing for almost an hour. We have no idea where it is."


End file.
